


A Crow with a Healing Heart

by fair-gayme (quinnthequeer)



Category: RWBY
Genre: IronQrow, M/M, Rated Explicit because there will be smut, as in there is already smut in chpt 2, fair game, plenty of actual plot besides smut though, polyamorous qrow, qrow has two hands, several chapters are planned, so ill try to update fairly consistently, there shall be the fluffs angst pining flirting that we all love, with lots more ideas too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:48:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22122856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quinnthequeer/pseuds/fair-gayme
Summary: Qrow has arrived in Atlas with goals of taking care of his kids and himself for once. He finds himself trying to figure out where his relationship stands with Ironwood now that they've been apart for so long. And, to Qrow's surprise, he also finds he can't keep himself away from the Ace Op's leader Clover. Thankfully, Qrow's polyamorous relationship style can allow him to explore his relationship with both men in between (or sometimes even during) the missions.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi, Qrow Branwen/James Ironwood
Comments: 29
Kudos: 126





	1. an atlas arrival with new emotions

**Author's Note:**

> Aight it's chapter one and we're getting this queer poly fic rolling. All aboard the Qrow multiship train

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing explicit, interactions with both Clover and Ironwood

Qrow didn’t normally like being tied up. 

He also didn’t like being ignored when he was explaining things nor strangers touching harbinger. And he definitely didn’t like tall, muscular men with gorgeous eyes standing over him while smugly grinning. 

Well, that last one might have been a slight lie. 

Nonetheless, Qrow was downright pissed off that all of the kids and him were handcuffed on the ground by some uppity Atlas team. Qrow hoped James would at least be amicable and understanding enough after their… hiatus… but he didn’t want to risk pulling the “I know the general” card yet. Not with their complicated history. 

The man who grabbed harbinger and who appeared to be the team leader walked over and took the relic from Ruby’s side before ordering everyone to be loaded onto a transport. Of course, the Atlas team in their stupid “matching but unique” outfits all dipped out while the robots (rather roughly) loaded the kids and Qrow up to be taken towards Atlas.

One fairly short and uncomfortable cargo flight later, the group was shepherded into Atlas Academy. Qrow felt a little relieved when Winter had the guards take off all of their handcuffs instead of him having to talk to James right away. It gave him a bit of time to assess how the man might be feeling about him.

James seemed pleasant enough, what with inviting them into his office and giving all his apologies and explanations, but Qrow wasn’t really buying it yet. He knew James far too well to fall for his politics tone of voice.

Soon it came to light that James had told Winter, Penny, and even those damned Ace Ops from earlier about the relics, the maidens, and gods know what else. Qrow was shocked at first, but he supposed it made enough sense. He told both teams RWBY and JNR so they could help him. If the Ace Ops were helping James, then so be it.

It did seem like James was (more than) a little bit paranoid and maybe (really seriously) needed a break to breathe and think, but Qrow trusted him enough for now. More importantly, he trusted Ruby to take lead and make decisions for their side.

Sides. Was he really on a different side from James now? The man he used to love. The man he still loved, just maybe in a different, more distant way now. Was it going to be possible to reconnect? Qrow found himself hoping so.

The lights and blinds came down as James told everyone he had a new plan and that they needed to trust him. Qrow was so ready to hear whatever new scheme James had cooked up. But after James started talking about a new approach from Oz’s original plan, Qrow couldn’t help but interrupt.

James wasn’t seriously thinking about going directly against Oz’s plan, right?

Not that there had been much of a plan in the end, Qrow argued against himself.

Qrow forced the rising stream of thoughts down and turned his focus to the projection of Amity Colosseum in the center of the room. James wanted to establish a new communications tower on top of the colosseum to reconnect the world and stay out of the way of Grimm.

So what was up with the military man-power hoarding?

Oh, only to tell the world about Salem.

Qrow thought James had lost his damned mind. After everything Oz had did, after everything everyone had done, and after all the people who had been lost. James really wanted to tell the whole world about the most evil person… or thing… to ever walk Remnant? Who can’t even be destroyed? Qrow couldn’t imagine how that would possibly turn out well. The Grimm attacks from the panic alone would be devastating, let alone the retaliation from Salem.

It was an honest surprise when the meeting didn’t turn into a screaming match. In the past, Qrow knew he would have instantly started berating James with slurred drunken shouts. Maybe going sober would be good for this whole diplomatics side of things. And who knew, maybe it could also be good for mending old relationships.

Fortunately, the topic of conversation turned from the plan and Oz to Oscar. James seemed to handle the news about Oz going into retreat well enough. It made Qrow briefly wonder how the new dynamic was going to establish itself compared to the old Oz, James, and himself. 

There wasn’t much time to get lost in thought before James handed the relic back over to Ruby.

“I don’t want you to think I’m keeping anything from you,” James said and it hit Qrow in the gut. He didn’t even want to start thinking about all the information they were keeping from James, how that would affect the Amity plans, and how Qrow wasn’t going to have any alcohol to help him process anything going on. 

He didn’t know whether or not he should take solace in the fact that it was Ruby’s decision, not his, regarding what information they were going to share with James. Qrow wasn’t even sure if he would have told James or not. Sure, Qrow knew he and James shared a bond that was once just as deeply emotional as it was physical but he couldn’t bring himself to consider fully trusting and opening up to James right now. Not after what Lionheart did, and not after finding out about everything that Oz kept from them.

But it was different with James, right? It had to be.

Soon enough, the crew had been shown out of James’s office and met the Ace Ops in the middle of one of the Academy’s large hallways. It seemed like everyone on that team was working hard to seem friendly. They spieled off some crap about not knowing who everyone was and looking forward to seeing the kids in action before wrapping up their conversation, or more so their prepared speech as it felt to Qrow.

Penny ushered the exhausted kids off to their sleeping quarters and the Ace Ops started to disperse. Qrow leaned up against a wall, wondering where he was going to go. Sure, he knew where he would be sleeping and all but part of him considered going to track James down for a more one on one conversation.

“You don’t seem like the kind to believe it, but I am sorry that was how we had to meet.”

Qrow looked up when he heard the voice. The leader of the Ace Ops was walking towards him. The rest of the hallway had emptied out.

“Yeah? Well, you don’t seem like the kind of guy to tie a man up the first time you meet.”

Chuckling, the ace op walked over to Qrow and leaned against the wall a few feet away from him. With both of them on equal footing now, Qrow could see that the man was actually only a little bit bigger than him. A tad disappointing, but not terribly so. The guy was still pretty damn attractive. Possibly Qrow had just spent too much time out in the wilderness, he thought to himself, but either way he wondered if he could get this guy to let Qrow pull the military stick out of his ass and stick something else up there.

“I’m Clover,” he said while extending a hand. Qrow tentatively accepted the handshake. Clover’s grasp was predictably strong but he held onto Qrow’s hand for a couple of seconds longer than was customary (unless Qrow was just reading into things).

“Qrow.” He didn’t feel like offering up much more information than that right now. Sure the man was hot, but Qrow was never the type to trust a stranger.

“I’ve assumed as much. Ironwood told me a bit about you before you… arrived here.”

“Great. I’m sure it was nothing but glowing reviews.”

“He actually warned me to watch out for you.”

“And why’s that?” Qrow narrowed his eyes. What all had that bastard spread around about him?

Clover smirked. “Nothing bad. Just that you’re a bit of a heartbreaker.”

“Sounds enough like James to me,” Qrow said with a roll of his eyes to the side. He still wasn’t thrilled with the thought of a bunch of strangers knowing random things about his past. He would have to go talk to James and find out what all he told the Ace Ops. Brothers knew it was already too late to keep all the juicy gossip from Winter.

“Regardless, it was a pleasure getting to properly meet you.” Clover held Qrow’s gaze for a moment. Qrow was no stranger to sexual tension and he could feel the undercurrents emanating from Clover’s mesmerizing teal eyes. 

“Yeah, uh, same, I guess,” Qrow managed to get out as a reply as he realized he had been starting to stare at Clover for a moment too long. “Now that I’m not tied up at your feet.”

As Clover took a step closer to him, Qrow squared his shoulders back to more directly keep eye contact.

With a raise of one eyebrow, Clover said, “Well, I look forward to getting to know you more. I’ll see you for the mission briefing in the morning.” Walking away, Clover gave Qrow one last look over his shoulder and nodded with his chin.

Qrow watched Clover leave and stared after the hallway for a few seconds. Maybe it was risky playing games with someone so close to James, but men who looked like that didn’t come into Qrow’s life often. Might as well see where it went. After a few moments, Qrow silently sighed before pushing himself off the wall to start walking and figure out along the way if he was going to go to his room or to James’s.


	2. A Night with the General

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During Qrow's first night in Atlas, he finds himself following General Ironwood back to his quarters after everyone else had gone off to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating: Explicit
> 
> Warnings for the chapter: this does get sexual towards the back end of the chapter. it's fairly vanilla, kinkiest thing is some light nibbling unless you're really into shoulder massages and male vulnerability. There's some kissing, talking, and back massaging before it gets dirty though
> 
> Also, to be clear, this is an Ironqrow chapter with no other characters. There will be plenty of fair game later on, trust me ;)
> 
> And without further ado here's chapter two for little ole you

Qrow turned to start walking down the hallway, not even really knowing what part of the academy he would be heading towards. Before he had even taken a few steps, he froze in his steps. It seemed like his dilemma about where to go was about to be solved, one way or another.

“Qrow,” called out James from the top of the stairs. Looking up, Qrow couldn’t help but to stare, his mouth slightly agape and his heart starting to race. There had been so many months switching between dreading and awaiting seeing James again that he wasn’t sure what exactly to do now that the moment was actually here. 

James walked down the stairs, Qrow staring the entire time. He stopped about a foot in front of Qrow with arms held behind his back. “I meant it when I said it was good to see you again.”

“Uh…” Qrow stammered. This was finally James talking, not General Ironwood. “Yeah, you too,” he finished, raising one arm sheepishly behind his head. Qrow had no idea what one was supposed to say in a situation like this. At least he knew James probably didn’t either.

Before Qrow could even start to figure out what else to say, he was taken aback when James reached out and drew him into a hug. He didn’t know how to react at first. He had spent so long anticipating that James was going to be furious with him that he hadn’t let himself imagine anything like this. 

After a tense moment of indecision, Qrow let himself relax and returned the hug, patting James’s back a couple of times before settling down.

“You seem exhausted, James,” Qrow said, his voice soft. “When was the last time you took a break?”

James didn’t pull away, and Qrow found himself relieved. He wasn’t ready for the hug to end yet.

“I’m not sure exactly,” James said slowly, clearly struggling to think. “Maybe last year?”

“Seriously, James? No wonder you seem so dead inside.”

“Easy enough for you to say. When was the last time you took a break yourself?”

“Well there was that one week I was unconscious from being poisoned, I’d say that counts as a vacation.”

James pulled away but kept his hands on Qrow’s shoulders, his grip firm. “You were poisoned, Qrow?”

Qrow felt kind of bad about how concerned James’s expression was. He had only meant it as a joke, but looking back it probably wasn’t as funny to James as it was to him.

“I mean I’m okay now.” Qrow hesitantly rested his hands on James’s waist. “I suppose there is a lot to catch up on.”

“If you'd like, maybe you could join me for some coffee back in my quarters?”

“Bit late for coffee, don’t you think, James?” Qrow said with a grin. Taking a small step to mostly close the difference between him and the general, he continued in a quieter voice. “But that does sound pretty good to me.”

Returning the smile, James pulled back and took Qrow’s arm in his while turning in the direction of his office. The pair hadn’t even taken two steps before James pulled his arm away, smoothing his uniform out with the slightest red tinge on his cheeks. It was too adorable for Qrow to be upset at the loss of contact.

A couple of times over the course of their walk, Qrow considered trying to start up a conversation. But the halls felt too quiet and imposing (and, Qrow admitted to himself, so did their relationship right now). Nothing had gone wrong yet, but as per usual Qrow felt as if things were going to turn against him any second.

As soon as the two reached James’s office and the door came to a shut behind them, the two turned to look at each other and let out two shuddering breaths in near unison. Qrow took a step forward, reaching out to cup the back of James’s neck in his hand. 

“I, uh, don’t think I was really clear about it earlier,” Qrow said, “But I am happy to see you.”

A half-second later and a little quieter, he added, “And I missed you.”

Qrow felt James’s hands grab his lower back and pull him in closer. “I’ve missed you too, Qrow. I’m glad you’re alright.”

James lowered his head and Qrow brought his forehead to rest against the general’s. The two stood there for a rare quiet and peaceful minute, just holding each other and getting used to the other’s presence again.

Feeling the tension from the silence build inside his mind, Qrow ached to say something. Yet at the same time, he didn’t want the moment to end. Absentmindedly, Qrow brought a hand up to James’s face and lightly stroked his fingers against the angles of his cheek and jaw.

Their mouths only inches apart, Qrow could feel James’s warm breath dancing on his lips. It had been too long since he had been this close to someone physically like this, and even longer since he had actually given a damn about that person. As much as he longed to feel more, to do more, Qrow forced himself to savor every single second.

Thankfully, Qrow didn’t have to wait long before James closed the distance for him. The kiss started tentatively and slowly but quickly turned more intense, as did many things with the two of them. James started dragging Qrow back towards the stairs towards the bedroom. Qrow happily obliged and shuffled across the room while trying to keep his lips, hands, and as much else of his body as possible in contact with James. 

As soon as the two entered the bedroom, Qrow pulled his hands away from James’s neck and slid them underneath his coat lapels to start sliding the stiff military jacket off. James shimmied his shoulders to help Qrow, but Qrow could tell the heat and passion was quickly dissipating. He went and set James’s jacket on a chair before returning to James, who was now sitting on the bed with his head in his hands.

Qrow heard a mumbled, “It’s not you,” as he sat down next to his old friend.

“Are you okay?” Qrow asked. “Like no shit, small talk aside, are you okay?”

Feeling James sigh and shake his head, Qrow drew him in closer. “You don’t have to be. I wasn’t. Almost got myself killed by drinking.”

Qrow wished he hadn’t said anything, but continued after James turned his head to look Qrow in the eyes. “There were Apathy at this farmhouse we had to stop at. I was drinking myself stupid while the kids nearly died. Enough was enough.”

“So you’ve really stopped drinking?”

Qrow shrugged. “Had to. Not much else of a choice. Already a bad enough uncle to them as it is”

“Or maybe you’re already a good uncle who is trying to be a better one.”

“Naah. Could never be that.” Qrow maneuvered himself behind James and started to massage his shoulders. At first touch, it felt like more knot than muscle (which was particularly impressive for the mechanical side, but he had always been impressed with how human-like Atlas could make robotics when they wanted to).

James rolled his shoulders back and Qrow scooted himself closer while he continued the massage. Before long, James was turning over to lay on his stomach. Qrow gladly got out of his uncomfortable kneeling position to straddle James’s lower back.

Digging his fingers in deeper, Qrow brought his body down closer. He tried to ignore James’s small moans and groans and just focus on the task at hand. 

After a couple of minutes, Qrow felt James start to roll over underneath him. The increased pressure beneath his legs almost had him biting his lip, but he suppressed those thoughts. No need to let himself get all riled up if that wasn’t what James wanted. 

“You’re going to put me to sleep like this,” James said, now sitting up with his arms out behind him propping him up. 

“Nothing wrong with that, if that’s what you need.”

“I’m pretty sure I always need more sleep. But that isn’t what I want right now.”

Qrow found himself staring directly and deeply into James’s eyes. He crawled forward until he was sitting on James’s lap. Even though he was still keeping a lot of his weight held up, he still made sure to leave plenty of contact and pressure where it mattered most.

“What is it that you want then?”

“I think you already know,” James said as he pulled Qrow down into him. Qrow let himself into a controlled fall until he was chest to chest with James. Their lips interlocked once again as their hands started exploring, looking for body parts to rest on for a moment or pieces of clothes to start pulling off. 

The two continued to practically rip each other apart in their matching needs to touch, be touched, and get rid of all the layers separating them. Seriously, Qrow thought. Why did this man have to wear so many different damned shirts?

At some point, Qrow found himself underneath James. Down to just his boxers, he positioned himself to be in as much contact with the man above him as possible.

Would it seem clingy? Possibly. But Qrow couldn’t bring himself to give a damn and it didn’t seem like James was minding in the slightest anyway.

Burying his face in James’s neck, Qrow just wanted to breathe the scent of James in and somehow get drunk off of it. He settled for a series of small bites down James’s neck, gradually increasing in strength until James was groaning and grinding on top of him. Qrow returned the motions, finding their synchronicity after a couple of seconds. 

Although James was still wearing pants, Qrow could feel how hard James was getting on top of him. Shifting his hips, Qrow aligned his cock up against James. He pressed up and hoped James would reciprocate.

The low rumbling moan James let out as he thrust down told Qrow that James was more than enjoying himself. 

Qrow pressed a kiss into James’s collar blade before bringing a series of nibbles up his neck then back around behind his ear. After leaving a few more soft kisses, Qrow nibbled at his ear. 

James moaned in a humming whine and ground down even harder against Qrow. Qrow felt himself getting pressed into the mattress before he put up some resistance. Working to press his hips up and slightly shift them from side to side, he could feel James’s cock sliding past the fabric.

As Qrow was finding his rhythm grinding against James, he found a hand under his back lifting him up and closer. Qrow hooked a leg around James to tighten their grip even more. He could feel James’s cock start to twitch and throb sporadically.

Qrow didn’t even mind that they both had pants on. He had been so touch starved for so long that even this was close to overwhelming. The warmth of James’s skin and prosthetics against him, the taste of James’s lips on his, the pleasure that kept building and growing harder to ignore the longer he rubbed against James.

“Fuck, Qrow, don’t stop.” 

Pleased at how worked up James sounded, Qrow reached a hand down to grab James’s ass and give it a shove down. James’s thrusts were growing more frantic and Qrow could tell he must have been getting close. He was starting to feel the same way himself. Part of him had considered trying to break away and finish another way, but he just wanted to feel James finishing against him and he wanted it now.

“I couldn’t if I tried,” Qrow said, struggling to get the words out with his ragged breathing. 

The two struck up a new rhythm together, desperate and nearly frantic. Qrow felt his pleasure building to the tipping point as he brought his lips back together with James’s.

“I’m so close,” James murmured against Qrow’s lips.

“So am I.”

As they kissed and gasped and groaned, Qrow and James both gave the last thrusts before pressing in and holding onto each other, shaking. Qrow felt his boxers grow damp near his tip just before he came. He could feel James’s cock throbbing while it was pressed firmly up against his.

The kisses slowed from the shaky desperation to softer, slower, and more tender ones. Qrow brought a hand down between their stomachs to find where their tips both were. He gently stroked his fingers around James’s tip before swirling them around in the small puddle of cum that had pressed through his boxers.

Qrow sighed, content with the moment. If only time could just freeze so he could stay here in this warm bliss and forget about everything else going on in the world. But Qrow’s anxiety would never let him accept that, not for more than a few precious minutes before he started chewing himself apart inside.

“So are you going to kick me out or can I get comfortable?” Qrow asked as he nuzzled his head into the crook of James’s neck, finding himself wishing that James would say yes.

“Maybe we should at least get cleaned up first, but I think I’d like you to stay here. At least for tonight.”

Qrow gently laughed and closed his eyes, not wanting to pull away to deal with his mess. This had been much needed, and he still had a night of cuddling to look forward to (whether James wanted to snuggle or not dammit). Qrow had no idea how their relationship would look in the light of both the morning and the decisions that everyone was making, but he forced himself to hold onto the little bit of happiness he felt right then. That little bit of happiness was making all of the pain worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And a nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more, say no more
> 
> Thank you for reading and for everyone whose left kudos and comments, it means a ton! This has been a lot of fun to write so far and I have a ton more ideas for our three lovely lads later (with pining and fluff-ing and smutting oh my)
> 
> Tune in next chapter for our favorite emo bird twink to catch some gay feels down in the mines. That guy with the teal eyes has just been so damned alluring.... maybe Qrow should find a way to get some alone time with him


	3. a morning with mixed reactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow and James accidentally sleep in after their night together. Qrow has to make it past Winter Schnee to get to his mission briefing with Clover. Hopefully Winter doesn't spread any rumors, even if they are true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wakey wakey eggs and bakey, it's time for chapter three! 
> 
> Rating: Teen and up. They were in bed together and do have to get dressed. But there isn't anything sexual. Some bad language but not a ton. 
> 
> Characters: Qrow, Ironwood, Winter, Clover; and briefly Jaune, Ruby, and Yang. We got some content for both ironqrow and qrover in this one

Raprapraprap.

Qrow groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and pulling the covers more fully over his head. Drawn out of his sleep by whatever ungodly noise that was, he realized his back was far warmer than it normally was in the morning. And there was a heavy weight on top of him. Oh right, that would be James’s arm. He held the other man’s prosthetic arm tight as he remembered last night. 

Rapraprapraprapraprap. The noise resumed, more intensely this time.

Now the general was stirring by Qrow’s side. As he started pulling his arm away, Qrow squeezed it tighter while turning to look at James with the best puppy dog eyes he could muster this early in the morning.

“Can’t you shut your alarm clock off?” Qrow asked.

James sighed. “Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s my--”

He was cut off by a voice on the other side of the door. “General Ironwood? It’s 8:15 sir, you’re late for a meeting.”

Winter Schnee. Shit, just Qrow’s luck. He let go of James’s arm as they both sat up and got out of bed. James held a finger to his lips, motioning for Qrow to be quiet.

“I’m awake, my scroll must have died,” James said loudly to the shut door, his voice still scratchy from sleep. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

Qrow stifled a laugh as he got dressed. Did James really think he was going to be able to keep him as a dirty little secret? Winter was finding out that Qrow was in there one way or another, and she was free to make her own assumptions from there.

The two quickly finished finding their scattered clothes and getting dressed. Qrow looked at James, waiting for the general to give him his walk of shame orders. 

James whispered, “Qrow, do you mind just… maybe…”

“Sir, this is a time-sensitive matter. And I know Qrow’s in there,” Winter said. Qrow snorted at the blush that appeared above James’s beard. “His shoes are down in your office.”

“Well now that the crows out of the bag,” Qrow said as he strode over to the door. “Morning Winter.” Qrow opened the door, finding himself facing a very unamused Winter, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. “Wow, that death glare really must run in your family. Could hardly tell you and Weiss apart.”

“If I’m not mistaken, Qrow,” Winter said sharply, “You’re late for your mission briefing with Captain Ebi.”

“Ah, well, whatcha gonna do,” Qrow said with a shrug as he slid past Winter to start heading down the stairs. It was far too early for him to have to deal with this much of the older (and dare he say bitchier) ice princess.

“Maybe not spend all night screwing the general,” Winter said, under her breath, Qrow figured probably so only he would hear. 

“Least I have someone to screw,” Qrow retorted, his voice equally as hushed.

“But for how long?” Winter stepped to the side of the small hallway, brought her scroll out, and started swiping through a few tabs. Qrow made his way down the stairs, biting his tongue from snapping back. Arguing with Winter wouldn’t earn him any brownie points from James. She just happened to strike one of Qrow’s fears right now.

Well, not that he wouldn’t be able to screw James for long. That wasn’t the part that much mattered to him. Qrow was nervous that James was going to shut himself off from Qrow. At this point, he expected that’s what would probably happen knowing his luck. For now, he settled his mind by focusing on grabbing his shoes which had been hastily kicked off the night before. 

Qrow was just starting to sit down in a chair when James came down the stairs. He was followed closely by Winter who appeared to be reading him a few things off of her scroll. When the two got to the bottom of the stairs, Winter put her scroll away and James strode over to near where Qrow was sitting.

“I had my seamstress make you a new outfit,” he said, holding out a package to Qrow. “The fabric uses Atlas technology to be more resilient to damage.”

“There was no need for that James,” Qrow said, even though he was being forced to take the package. “You know I’m fine with what I’ve been wearing.”

“You’ve had the exact same style for decades. It’s time to change things up.”

“You know I don’t…”

“Nonsense. You’ll thank me later. The kids are all getting upgrades anyways, I just wanted to give you this in person since I knew you wouldn’t wear them otherwise.”

“Whatever you say, James.” Qrow finished putting on his shoes, picked up the clothes package, and made his way over to the door. 

The three walked out of James’s office in an awkward silence. Finally, it came time for Qrow to turn off into a different hallway.

“Best behavior out on the mission, Qrow,” James said as the small group started to split apart. “And stay safe.”

“Of course, General Ironwood,” Qrow said with a grin, trying to tease the general. He was disappointed when James didn’t return the grin. “See you around after the mission, I guess.”

“If you would, sir,” Winter spoke up.

“Right, right,” James said with only a nod to Qrow as he and Winter started briskly walking down the hallway. Qrow took a few dramatic steps backward before turning around to finish his trek to the mission briefing. Just like James to go all cold on him. Hopefully that was just the ice princess’s effect.

The mission briefing room wasn’t far away and Qrow was over there within a matter of minutes. When he opened the door, he found Ruby, Jaune, and Clover all sat around the table with the map pulled up in the middle. It sounded like Clover was telling them about some Ace Ops mission. Ruby looked enthralled, so at least they might not be that mad at him.

“Sorry I’m late, scroll died, overslept,” he said, hoping his explanation would be enough and walking over to stand at the empty spot next to Clover.

“Winter messaged to let me know what was going on,” Clover said with a glance down and up Qrow’s lanky body. The two made eye contact. “Just don’t let it happen again.”

Shit. That gossipping little brat really was already airing his business all over the academy. Clover was the last person he wanted knowing what he was getting up to with the general.

“I swear I’m usually a lot more professional.”

Jaune snorted from the other side of the table. “Yeah, sometimes he remembers what a hairbrush is.”

Ruby burst out laughing and Qrow quickly tried to hand comb out some of the bedhead tangles from last night. James had only been tugging on his hair a little bit, it could be that bad, right? Sneaking a glance over at Clover, it looked like the Ace Ops leader was trying to hold back laughter too.

“Alright, alright. If we’re all done ganging up on me, what’s the mission?”

Clover proceded to fill Qrow and the two kid team leaders in about the geist in the mines. Three planes had been readied for the group to leave. Team RWBY would take one plane with Harriet and Marrow, Team JNR with Elm and Vine in the second, and the final plane would be shared by only Qrow and Clover.

After Clover dismissed the kids to go check out their new weapon upgrades, he turned to Qrow. “I’ll meet you at the hanger in thirty minutes. Just don’t be late.” With a quick wink, he turned and headed out the door. Qrow watched him leave, taking those few moments to just enjoy the view. If the Atlesian military knew how to do one thing right it was how to tailor a damned uniform.

Qrow found his way to the nearest locker room and set about unwrapping the clothes James had picked out for him. Honestly, it wasn’t that far out of his comfort level. Just leave it to James to give him a shirt with a dozen damn layers somehow. There was the undershirt, the button down, the vest, and the whole cloak ordeal. Still, Qrow smiled. After all the grief James had given him in the past about his edgy style and cape, at least he cared enough about Qrow to get him this admittedly really nice outfit.

He changed quickly and paused by the mirror on his way out. The shirt really did fit him well, and he thought he managed to look like a decently put together huntsman in it. He quickly tried one more time to tame his bird’s nest of hair and then left for the transport hanger. He didn’t want Clover to think too poorly of him after all. When he got there, a few of the kids were already there comparing their weapons.

“Hey, Uncle Qrow!” Yang called out from where she was sprawled across a couple of crates next to Blake. “Check out my new arm!”

Qrow made his way around the group of kids as the rest of them showed up, admiring all of their upgrades and listening to them chatter about the mission. He told himself he was going to have to thank James for all of these weapons later, Atlas really had pulled out all the stops for them.

All five of the Ace Ops walked up to the group at the same time. Qrow looked up to see Clover slowly eyeing Qrow up and down. Maybe this outfit did look good on him after all. Or maybe Clover just always studied people like this. 

“Alright then, if we’re all here then let’s get loaded up. Ace Ops, you all know who you’re working with.” Clover directed the groups to their planes. Qrow held back, wondering what Clover was going be like on the plane and in the field.

After the other two planes were loaded up with the excited kids and their Atlas mentors, Clover walked back over to Qrow.

“Looks like we’ll be able to get to know each other on the way over there, huh?” Clover said. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was originally also going to have the plane ride too, but it just got to be way too long to be a single chapter. Chapter 4 with the fair game plane ride is all written, it just needs to be edited so I will post it tomorrow. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and extra thank you for the kudos and comments! I've never had so many people reading and enjoying my work so this has been like the coolest thing ever! See yall tomorrow with more #fairgamerights


	4. a flight with unintended flirting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow and Clover get to know each other better during the plane to the mines. But Qrow knows he really shouldn't be letting himself get this worked up over a new coworker...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you're here for some more... then how bout a chapter four?
> 
> Rating: Teen and up  
> Nothing explicit, talks about relationship styles and sexuality, some flirty banter and mild language
> 
> Characters: Qrow and Clover  
> Main ship: Fair game

The plane felt strangely empty with just the two of them in there. Qrow was so used to traveling with the constant jabbering of the kids (mostly Ruby and Nora) that having only the sound of the plane engine was slightly offputting. He and Clover were even the only two humans in the plane, seeing as the pilot was one of the standard Atlas robots.

Qrow fidgeted with his hands while the planes took off. It was going to be a couple of hours until they made it over to the mines. He had no idea what he was going to talk about until then. Take off was quiet, but when they reached cruising altitude and were able to get unbuckled, Clover started up a conversation.

“I like the new outfit. Looks good on you.”

Figuring Clover was just saying that to be polite and make small talk, Qrow laughed. “Sure, sure. If you say so.”

“I actually meant that you know. It suits you. Plus it looks like it fits really well.”

Clover would have noticed the fit, wouldn’t he have, Qrow figured. “Uh, thanks then.”

“So…” Clover left a lingering pause. “Last night. That’s why the general spoke so fondly of you, is it?”

Qrow could feel his cheeks burning up, he knew he was blushing. Clover was really going straight to this. Just his luck, he thought.

“I mean we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms…”

“I wouldn’t have been able to tell that from the way he went on about you. Qrow this, Harbinger that, that one mission and the other.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Qrow couldn’t imagine James, or anyone, saying good things about him behind his back.

“Not in the slightest. And besides, I’d heard about you before anyways. Or at least you and your team. You guys were kinda famous around the academy when I was going through it.”

“Oh, yeah, I suppose.” Qrow didn’t want to think about team STRQ, let alone talk about them.

“I never really pegged Ironwood as the kind of guy to settle down in a relationship though.”

Qrow was thankful for the slight change in conversation, even if it was still related to his love life. “It isn’t exactly like that,” he said with a small laugh.

“What is it like then?” Clover was leaning against the side of the transport, arms crossed (and slightly flexed, Qrow thought he noticed).

“We aren’t really in a committed relationship. I mean, we do care about each other, it’s not like this is just a fuck buddy thing. But we could see other people if we wanted,” Qrow tried to explain and he hoped that Clover wasn’t too off-put.

“Ah, I see. Like an open relationship?”

“Yeah, you’ve heard of them?”

“Harriet was in one for a while. Don’t think she is anymore. But they’ve always interested me.”

“I think it’s worked out pretty alright for me. When things go south there’s usually… other factors involved.” Qrow tried to choose his words carefully. At least Clover didn’t seem opposed to his type of relationships. But, now Qrow wondered, was he also into men?

“Well, it sounds like things are going well enough with you and Ironwood now.”

Qrow let out a laugh that was really more just a puff of air from his nose. “We’ll see about that. He seems a little out of sorts.”

It was a long moment before Clover responded. “It’s been a rough past couple of months. Years, I suppose. But you know how it goes.”

“More than you could ever know, pretty boy.” Qrow was happy to get a small chuckle out of Clover. For all the personal questions, it really hadn’t been that bad talking to the guy.

Clover got up off the wall and walked across the transport to where Qrow was. “I’d love to hear some of your stories, if you wouldn’t mind sharing.”

“That so? I usually make people take me out one at least one date before I start opening up like that.”

“I suppose I don’t have any plans for dinner tonight yet.”

Qrow felt his eyes involuntarily widen with surprise. He hadn’t expected Clover to pick up on the hook he had thrown out. He was about to ask if that was a date proposition when Clover’s radio started making noise.

Letting himself zone out while Clover talked over the radio to one of the other Ace Ops, Qrow wondered if he actually wanted to go out to dinner with Clover on a date. After all, he was already messing up one professional relationship with romance and this wasn’t exactly the best time to making exes or enemies out of allies. Or worse, with his luck, Clover could even end up getting hurt because of him.

It just wasn’t worth it, Qrow decided. He should just back off from Clover and focus on the missions. And on getting through the rest of the plane ride without flirting. Silently and sarcastically, Qrow wished himself good luck with that.

“Sorry about that,” Clover said, startling Qrow out from his thoughts. “Elm needed confirmation on their mine entrance.”

“It’s all good,” Qrow said, hoping he could just play off earlier or that Clover wouldn’t even bring it up.

“Want to sit down, play some cards? We still have a ways to go.”

“Might as well,” Qrow replied and he followed Clover over to the seats next to a small pull-down table. 

Clover started shuffling the cards. “You play much?

“I’m not known to have the best luck at card games.”

“Might be a tough day for you then.” Clover dealt them both a hand of cards. 

“Wouldn’t be the first.”

“At least you have some good company then.”

“I suppose so.”

The two let the thread of conversation dropped as they played a couple of rounds. Qrow lost every single one, predictably. It seemed like while he got the worst hands, Clover was getting all the best ones.

A little way into their fourth round, Clover paused before his turn.

“I was curious,” he said with another pause.

“Mmhmm,” Qrow prompted him to continue.

“I was just wondering what kind of men you’re usually into. Or if the general is just… special.”

“The general sure is something,” Qrow laughed. “But he’s not the only man I’ve been with if that’s what you’re asking.”

A few rounds passed before Clover glanced up at Qrow with an inquisitive look. All it took was one look into those teal eyes for Qrow to cave and continue talking.

“I dated this blonde twink for a while, but things got real complicated with that. I’ve brought more than a couple of guys home from more than a couple bars, but nothing else too serious. But I guess when it comes down to it, I really just like a guy with good assets.”

Clover laughed as he revealed his winning hand. “That’s one way to describe it, I suppose. Are you into women as well?”

“Yup,” Qrow said adding a popping sound to the end of the word. “Nothing much on either end lately, besides well, uh, you know.”

As embarrassed as he felt, Qrow still recognized that it felt kind of good actually to talk and open up to someone else his own age. He hadn’t talked about his own sexuality or relationship preferences with someone for years. None of the kids would understand, except for maybe Yang in regards to Blake. But he was going to let the firecracker bring that conversation up on her own whenever she was ready for it.

“And what about you then? Who are you into?” Qrow asked while he gathered up his cards. “Unless this is just an interrogation.” Even though he had been okay talking about himself for a little while, he was ready to get the conversation away from his past. And besides, he was curious about what happened when Clover wasn’t in that crisp and tight Ace Op’s uniform.

Smiling and shaking his head, Clover said, “Fair’s fair, I guess. Only men for me. And I like a man who knows how to handle himself on and off the battlefield.”

“Is that so,” Qrow said as he handed his cards back to Clover. He was finding it dangerously easy to slip back into flirting with the man even though he had just so recently affirmed to himself that the eye-candy was off-limits. 

“But seeing as I have to plan all the Ace Ops missions as well as help Ironwood with all our extra matters, I haven’t had much time for looking at anyone.”

“That’s understandable enough,” Qrow said but noted to himself while Clover was talking he had distinctively only been looking at Qrow, not the cards he had been shuffling. Plus with how Qrow knew Clover had been checking him out in the new outfit, he knew Clover was at least partially lying in regards to not looking at anybody.

Clover dealt another hand and the two played in a relatively comfortable silence for the next hour. A light came on near the front of the plane.

“Looks like it’s about time to start getting ready to head down,” Clover said. “Shall we wrap up this game?”

“Not sure we need to, I think I could safely make a bet on who’s going to win.” Qrow set down his cards. He was ready to get off the plane and start working. Maybe get some time to set his head straight about Clover.

“You’ll get lucky one of these times,” Clover said as he gathered up all of the cards. “I’m assuming you have a landing strategy?”

Qrow just stared at Clover, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. He wasn’t going to go bird mode quite yet, in case James hadn’t told all of the Ace Ops yet, but he still sure as hell knew how he was getting down.

“Okay, I get it, stupid question. Of course you do.” Clover packed away the cards and stood up. “Shall we? I’m ready to go see you in action.”

Standing up and walking over near the plane door, Qrow couldn’t help but wonder if Clover had been trying to flirt or not just then. He knew it shouldn’t matter to him, but he found that he couldn’t help himself hoping that he wasn’t just reading into things. 

Qrow stopped and stretched his arms back behind him, leaning back slightly on raised toes. He made sure to stretch back far enough to pull his shirt up a little bit. Out of curiosity, he slyly snuck a peek over at Clover’s direction.

The other man was definitely staring.

Qrow was definitely enjoying that fact.

He should really not be enjoying that fact that much. What the hell was he doing? He chided himself to grow up. Letting his arms loose, he relaxed but didn’t slouch over. He figured he might as well try to start looking a little more confident even if he didn’t feel that way.

But seriously, was he really this incapable of staying purely professional with Clover?

Gusts of strong wind hit Qrow in the face as Clover opened the door of the plane. Qrow turned back to look. Clover was standing in the open door, half turned towards him. Clover reached out an arm, motioning for him to come over.

After giving a mocking half-salute, hips thrust to one side, Qrow crossed the airplane and stood next to Clover. Looking out, the view was nearly entirely white between the clouds, sky, and snow.

“Ready?” Clover asked, but Qrow could barely hear him over the wind. Qrow turned his head and made eye contact with Clover right before the man jumped out of the plane. Qrow found himself smiling as he took one last breath in the plane before following Clover’s suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I was rewatching ep 3 for this part of the fic, I figured out that our boy Clover was already stealing Qrow off for himself by getting them their own plane over to the mines. Like Clover bro, was that really necessary? Absolutely, if you're a dramatic gay pining over an emo twink. Anyways, I went made a post [here on tumblr](https://fair-gayme.tumblr.com/post/190130451621/fair-game-plane-ride) about the whole plane situation, but I knew I had to incorporate it into this fic. I felt it was still way too early in their relationship to get anything too ~fun~ going on, but what better time to learn more about each others preferences?
> 
> Also, yes Taiyang is that one blonde twink ;)
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading and being so awesomely supportive about this fic!! I'll see you all next chapter down in the mines!


	5. a mission with questions and fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow questions how to handle his partnership with Clover as they track down the geist in the mines. He doesn't know whether or not to let himself open up to Clover or how close he should allow himself to get.
> 
> Primary ship: Fair game  
> Characters: Clover, Qrow, mentions of other teams  
> Rating: It's all squeaky clean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Geist grimm? Awh man.
> 
> So we back in the mines, got harbinger swinging side to side, day and night....
> 
> Okay this took me a long while to write. I've had a hard time lately, but...  
> we're still alive  
> and now we can dive  
> right into chapter five ;)

Snow crunched under Qrow and Clover’s boots as the two walked side by side. Qrow found himself nervous, but it wasn’t because of the geist they were trying to track down. He didn’t know how he wanted to handle this new work partnership what with how he thought Clover might have been flirting with him and how he was trying to shut down any desires to grow closer to Clover.

“Look, I’ll be real,” Qrow said, breaking the silence in the frigid mine tunnel. “I haven’t worked with another huntsman in a long time. This is a little weird for me.”

“What about your team?”

“I said I hadn’t worked with anyone in a long time. I’d rather not talk about it, alright?” Qrow didn’t mean to sound as harsh as he did, but he was getting frustrated with the prodding and prying questions. Maybe if Clover kept being so annoying he wouldn’t be so attractive.

“I didn’t mean to upset you, I was only wondering.”

“I haven’t been trying to dig up your dark secrets, have I?”

“I wasn’t aware that past teams were generally considered ‘dark secrets’.”

Qrow crossed his arms as they continued walking. Clover had a point, how was he to know Qrow was so touchy about these things. And maybe if they were going to be working together for the foreseeable future, he should consider opening up at least a little bit. Just for the purely professional end of things. Qrow figured that made enough sense.

“We were all just really close and then some bad things happened,” he hesitantly offered.

“I’m sorry that must have been difficult.”

“Don’t be. It was probably all my fault anyway.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because bad things just usually are my fault. Trust me.”

“You shouldn’t beat yourself up like that. I bet there are tons of talented huntsmen that would love to get the chance to work with you.”

“You know practically nothing about me, how could you say something like that?”

“I’ve heard enough stories about you to know you’re a good huntsman, and I’ve seen enough of your actions to know you’re a good person.”

“Then I guess you’re wrong. I’ve just found working alone tends to be for the best.”

“Well, I think that’s a shame.”

Qrow didn’t even have time to start thinking of a response before he found the ground rapidly approaching his face. He had barely resigned himself to his bad luck and gravity-determined fate when he felt his body halt, the fall stopped by Clover grabbing his arm. It felt strangely belittling and embarrassing to Qrow as he was pulled upright by Clover who clasped a hand to his shoulder. Clover held Qrow there for a moment before letting go.

“Alpha here. Give me an update,” he said into his earpiece.

So the smug bastard wasn’t even going to acknowledge what had just happened. Qrow didn’t know whether he should feel relieved or more embarrassed by that. After all, Qrow knew exactly why hr tripped over his own feet.

He was going to have to tell Clover about his semblance at one point or another. It would be for the best: that way Clover would just distance himself without Qrow having to do it for them and no one would get hurt. There was no way Clover would want to stick around after learning about even one piece of Qrow’s baggage. This would all be for the best, Qrow told himself.

Clover talked with the two other teams while the two of them hiked further into the mines. It wasn’t long until the other teams entered combat. Shortly after that, Qrow and Clover made contact with the geist. Qrow immediately started shooting but it didn’t seem to be doing much of anything. He held back, waiting to take his cues from Clover who was still getting out his weapon. 

Which was…. A fishing pole?

As Clover cast his rod, Qrow couldn’t believe he was watching a grown huntsman try to go fishing for a grimm. The hook fell right through the grimm to the ground, just as Qrow’s bullets hadn’t hurt the geist. It flew into a pile of rocks and metal as it started pulling more through the air to add to its body.

Dodging a large flying rock, Qrow actually felt nervous about the mission for the first time. The combination of his semblance and these flying rocks could be a deadly one for either him or Clover. Before he could warn his partner, Clover had sprinted off into the fray of rocks to get closer to the geist.

Qrow scanned the area, already assuming Clover was going to get hurt because of him. His fears were near-instantly proved correct. A rock started to pry a metal bar out from the ceiling and it was going to land directly onto Clover. 

“Wait, stop!” Qrow screamed, not caring if his yell or expression revealed how scared he actually was.

As the air cleared, Qrow was relieved to see Clover still standing. The thought of him falling down the giant hole now in the middle of the tunnel was stomach-churning to Qrow. After the initial shock and relief regarding Clover, Qrow realized he hadn’t yet given a single thought to the geist escaping.

Way to go, Qrow. He silently congratulated himself on ruining another mission and nearly getting someone killed. This is why he should have just stuck to working alone. It still wasn’t too late for him to give some bullshit apology and excuse before dipping out.

He felt in over his head. Between his semblance, working with someone again, and whatever the hell these feelings about Clover were, it was all just too much. Nevertheless, he ran up to join Clover next to the hole.

“Darn it, target escaped, last seen headed east,” Clover informed the other teams. Qrow wondered how the hell the man looked so nonchalant as he kicked a rock down the hole. “Thanks for the call-out. That could have been bad.”

Qrow wished he could toss his stomach down after the rock since it was tying itself in knots so badly. Damn it, if he wanted to act like he cared about Clover, if he wanted to feel like he cared about Clover, then he needed to come clean. At least about this. He took a breath to steady himself.

“I wouldn’t thank me. My semblance brings misfortune. Sometimes I can’t keep it under control.”

He couldn’t look Clover in the eyes while he said it, but at least he got it out. 

And, as mortifying as it was, it almost felt like a relief to say.

“That so? Well, hey, don’t beat yourself up about it.” 

Qrow was strongly resisting the urge to roll his eyes. What else was he supposed to do? Just accept he was a ticking time bomb of a liability that people kept around for some reason? Qrow didn’t know what response he was expecting, but he was sure it was going to be more negative than Clover just shrugging the news off.

He let himself get momentarily distracted watching Clover cast his fishing rod. The hook wrapped around a metal beam that looked like it was pretty solid in the wall. Apparently, Clover’s muscles were for more than just looking enticing. The beam came down and Qrow found Clover turning to look him in the eyes.

“My semblance is good fortune. Lucky you, huh,” Clover said with a wink.

Qrow felt like time slowed to a stop for a moment but it still didn’t give him enough time to process everything.

Good fortune. The dead opposite of everything that caused him so much pain.

Lucky him. Lucky him? Why lucky? Why him?

Why the wink?

Why did Qrow feel like he should be angry yet instead felt more like static electricity on an old TV screen?

Clover was talking to the other teams but Qrow couldn’t bring himself to care.

What the hell was Clover trying to get at with him?

Did Ironwood set them up like this on purpose? Was Clover actually this unbothered or was he lying? Would he actually be able to work with Clover, be around Clover? Would he even be able to…

“Qrow and I won’t be far behind.”

Hearing his name, Qrow snapped out of his spiraling train of questions. He started jogging after Clover down the tunnel revealed by the downed beam. They had a geist to kill after all. That’s why they were in the mines, he reminded himself. Not to have some dramatic gay personal crisis over the apparently lucky and flirty eye candy he needed to stop thinking about.

The two quickly made their way to the main chamber. It sounded like the fight was definitely already in progress. As they cleared the entrance, with barely any time to process what was going on, a dust crystal came flying at them.

Which conveniently landed right in Clover’s hand. “What would you guys do without me?” he called out to his teammates surrounding the dust-adorned geist. 

Of course, Qrow figured. This was exactly why people would rather have someone like Clover on their team than someone like him. He didn’t know why anyone would want him on a mission around something as dangerously volatile as the dust crystals.

Qrow was surprised when Clover turned around and tossed him the dust crystal. Clover was so casual about passing it off to Qrow that he could hardly believe Clover knew what his semblance was. Embarrassingly enough, Qrow was also a little surprised but relieved that he managed to catch the crystal

Even more surprising yet, however, was how Clover was already jumping off the edge of their ledge before even checking to make sure that Qrow had caught the crystal.

There was no way that Clover could actually trust him, right?

Qrow also was finding it hard to believe this damn man was swan diving backwards into the cavern while throwing him a cheeky grin and salute. There was no need to be that dramatic. Unless...

No, Qrow had to be wrong.

Clover couldn’t trust him.

Clover couldn’t be trying to get closer to him. Let alone flirt with him.

Qrow needed to back off before one of them got hurt.

The mine walls were all feeling a little too close and restrictive all of a sudden. Qrow had never felt claustrophobic in the mines before, but he found himself wishing for the relief of fresh air and the open sky. What was he getting himself into with this? He had no idea about that. Qrow just knew he wanted to get done with the mines and the mission as quickly as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #fair game rights
> 
> thank you all so much for reading! yall really are the best. I truly appreciate everyone's comments and kudos, I try my best to reply to comments on comment on fics but it gets kinda exhausting for me sometimes (and theres been like... way too much going on). The fair game tags on here and tumblr have been like a safe haven this entire volume <3 never in my years have i been in such an amazing group of shippers
> 
> okayokay i'll see you next chapter, I'll try not to be as long this time I promise <3

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 2 is in the works. Think we all remember who Qrow runs into down that hallway wink wink


End file.
